I have the Health Mate that Metifast sales. It has smaller cups that work great for soft serve. Not sure if the bullet is cheaper or better. My mom gave me hers when I started metafast.... she now loves the pre-made shakes so she did not need it...

I envy you having a blend tec.... If you are getting another blender, I would vote for the ninja... I have both the ninja and a magic bullet.... I do not like the bullet as much as the ninja... ninja is much stronger and faster.... I saw in the bed bath and beyond circular today that ninja has another product out, this one looks like a traditional blender.

I too love gadgets....

I have the healthmate one from Medifast and love it....works great on the soft-serves, puddings, and shakes. Easy to clean too!..

I'm not sure about the prices of the ninja or magic bullet, but I got a Bella Cocina (I think that's how it's spelled?) from Target for $29.99 and it's worked out great for me for over a year! It comes with about 6 glasses (I think?), some smaller, I think 8oz, and some larger, I think either 12 or 16oz. You can spend money on a more expensive one, but this one works out great for me, and it comes with two different blades. I use it to make soft serve and really thick shakes all the time..

I just bought the Ninja at Sam's last week. BTW, at Sam's you get several extra bowls in the kit so you can stick them in dishwasher instead of constantly washing it..

The Ninja makes fantastic shakes, HOWEVER, it is very difficult to clean. Every time I make a shake I have to clean the bowl collar which has a deep hard-to-reach crevice, the blades which come apart into two deadly pieces and ultimately the bowl (although multiple bowls makes this a dishwasher job for the bowls)..

I started Medifast using a small, cheap personal blender from Hamilton Beach. One smoothie-sized blender cup on a small one-button motor. It was perfect except that it got the air pocket around the blades that is a pain in a traditional blender. But I would eat the shake right out of it then give it a quick rinse before setting aside for next time. Now with the Ninja I really dread the clean-up..

It's a trade-off. I still prefer the Ninja because of the great smooth consistency but the Hamilton Beach sure was a breeze to clean..

Chris..

I got a Ninja on sale last week for only $30 at Fred Meyers. Worked great twice and then somehow the plastic gears got messed up, one melted a bit and they look slightly stripped. It still works but it's obviously damaged so I'll take it back and try a replacement. Oh, and after I read all about how sharp the blades are I promptly sliced the tip of my finger open. Ouch.

But it sure does make quick work of ice cubes!..

I love my Magic Bullet! I use it all the time. These are my top picks on kitchen gadgets I use for MF: http://newbeautifulme.blogspot.com/p...n-gadgets.html (I am a gadget nerd)..

Thanks everyone for your input on this! I looked carefully at both the Ninja and Magic Bullet at Costco...and decided that I really liked the upside-down concept of the magic bullet (especially since I already have a Blend-tec). So far I've used it for non-soda shakes (I think all the gas in soda would make the MB blow up!), and softserve, and grated some parmesan cheese rinds. I'm quite pleased with it! I did the warranty registration online so I have a 15 month free warranty on it. Thanks again for the discussion!.

Sue..

I have used soda in the Magic Bullet and it didn't blow up..

I'm also a really big fan of the magic bullet! I always use the small cup to make soft serve, and it turns out great! It crushes the ice so fine it looks like snow in the cup..

Easy to clean, too I throw the dirty cup and blender mechanism into a bowl of soap water for a bit, then rinse and dry, and I'm ready for my next Medifast meal!.

It's funny: I bought it for my daughter as a Christmas gift last year. I think she used it once, and I didn't use it at all until I started MF. Now it gets a workout every single day!!.

Deb..